Sole laying machine



, 1933. sjJ. FINN SOLE LAYING MACHINE March 21 Filed April 3. 1929 Patented Mar. 21, 1933 i* UNITEDSTATES AT1-:NT orFicE- SIDNEY J. EINN, or BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSI'GNOR rro UNITED SHOE Meer-:tim

EEY CORPORATION, or PATEESON, NEW JERSEY, A conronerron ory NEW JERSEY SOLE LAYENG MACHINE Appiieation medepfn a,

This invention relates to sole laying machines for boots and shoesvand is herein illustrat-ed as embodied in a machine of the type disclosed in Letters Patent No. 1,495,163 granted lMay '27, 1924 upon an application filed in the name of Louis A. Casgrain.

In machines of the type referred to a lasted Shoe with a rubber sole lightly adhering toit in proper position on its bottom is placed upon a rubber diaphragm which forms the upper wall of a pressure box. A

jack then operates to push the shoe part way into the box and to hold it in this position `While water under pressure-is forced into the box to wrap the diaphragm about the low- `er portion of the shoe and thereby lay the sola-that is, press it firmly into place. The pressure of water used is considerable and would be suliicient to cause the diaphragm to balloon up about the sides of the shoe and very possibly under such circumstances to burst. In' order to guard against any considerable ballooning or upward de- `fiection of the diaphragm, machines of the above-mentioned type have been provided with a plate which is located above the rubber diaphragm and has in it a substantially sole-shaped opening. It is upon the portion of the diaphragm exposed by this opening that the shoe is placed, and it is through this opening that the lower portion of the slice is pushed by the jack. When water under pressure is forcedA into the pressure box, the plate prevents any considerable ballooning of the diaphragm and limits the flexing of the diaphragm to the narrow spacebetw'een the edge of the opening in the plate and the adjacent sides of the Shoe. A given plateis intended for use with shoes which are of a given size or which at least do not differ greatly inl size; and there is provided with the machine a series of interchangeable plates having in them openings of graduated sizes.

According to one feature of the'invention interchangeable plates such as these are done away'with and there is provided a'I plurality of members adapted to enclosjea Suitably shaped opening through which a shoe 'may pass, said members being adjustable to lightly attached to its bottom 1929. serial N0.s52,279.

vary the size of the opening, andjmeansfor locking the members in adjusted position.

In the illustrated construction thesemem embodied in an illustrative machine andy pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring no w to the accompanying drawlnga Y i Fig. l is a perspective of part of a sole laying machine in which the present invention is embodied, and Y Fig. 2 is a partial plan of the plates Vupon an enlarged scale showing more particularly the mechanism for adjusting the plates.

Referring rst to F ig. Vl, the sole laying machine, a portionof which is shown, Vis or may be', except for certain features which will be pointed outlater, substantially lthe Same as the machine shown in-'LettersPatent No.

,495,163 which has beenA referred to above.

"The machine'comprises a pressure box 3 fastened to a pedestal 5 and having an upper wall consisting offa flexible rubber diaphragm 7, which is not normally fiat but is curved in the direction of its length sov that its middle is at a level somewhat lower than' that of its ends. This diaphragm rests on top of the upright walls of the box and is clamped in placebya cover 9 and bolts', four of which are indicated at l1.' ln the operation4 of the machine, a lasted Shoe with an unvulcanized rubber sole Y is placed upon the diaphragm and power is machine to cause it to operate inthe following manner. A jack havingfa'front post 13- and a rear post'l is swunglo'ver the lasted applied to the shoe and by engagement respectively with the toe portion of the shoe and the crown of the last, pushes the shoe part way down into the pressure box, thereby bending the diaphragm downward. lVater under pressure is next forced into the box to wrap the diaphragm about the lower portion of the shoe and thereby to press the sole firmly into place. Water is then withdrawn from the pressure box, the jack swings upward and to one side into the position shown; and the machine comes to rest. As thus far described the machine is or may be substantially the same as the machine of the patent and will not be further described since the details of its construction per se form no part of the present invention.

vThe capor cover 9, which has a compara- 'tvely large elongated lopening through its longitudinal middle is provided with two pairs ofvguid-eways the members of each pair of which converge from the respective ends of the cap toward the middle thereof. Mounted in the converging guideways 17, 19 at the front end of the cap is a pair of plates 21, 23, the outer edge of the plate 21 being slidably mounted in the guideway 17, while the outer edge of the plate 23 is slidably mounted in the guideway 19. The inner or adjacent edges of the plates are complementary to each other and cooperate to produce between them a generally U-shaped recess. Cut in the plate 23 is a` slot 25 which extends transversely of the pressure box; and a bolt 27 fast to the plate 21 extends up through the slot and carries a washer 29 and a nut 31, the purpose of this slip-connection between the plates being to hold them in contact while permitting them to move widthwise of the pressure box when they are adjustedforward and back in the converging guideways 17, 19.

Cut in the plate 21 isa slot 33 which is parallel to the guideway 17; and cut in the plate 23 is a slot 35, which is Iparallel to the guideway 19. A bolt 37, carried by the cap 9, extends upthrough both of these slots and has threaded upon its upper end a nut 39 provided with a handle 41. These slots and the bolt help to guide the plates whenthey are being adjusted, and the nut furnishes means for locking them in adjusted position. After-v t-his nut has been loosened, the plates 21, 23 may be adjusted forward and back, to change the sizeof the recess outlined by the plates, by turning a hand wheel 42.

This hand wheel is fast to a shaft 43 which is rotatably mounted in bearings carried b the cap V9 and has two'pinions 45, 47 which mesh respectively with racks 49, 51 Vcut in the under face of the plate 23. Connected to the inner end of the shaft by a universal joint is one endof a short shaft 53 the other end of which is connected'by a second universal joint to one end of? a shaft 55. This shaft, likethe shaft 43, is mounted in bearingsl carriedV by thecap 9 and has two pinions 57, 59 which mesh respectively with racks 61, 63 cut in the under face of the plate 21. In order to aid in guiding the plates 21 and 23 in their movements, a guide member 65 carried by the cap 9 engages an edge of the plate 21, and a similar guide member G7 engages an edgel of the plate 23. With this construction the plates 21,23 may be adjusted simultaneously in converging or diverging paths by turning the hand wheelV 42 and may beloclred in adjusted position by means of the nut 39.

Cooperating with the plates 21, 23, which are adapted to extend around the toe portion of a shoe, is another pair of plates 69, 71 which are adapted to extend around the heel Vportion of the shoe. vThese plates are mounted Vrespectivelyvin guideways 73, 75 in the capi), are guided 1n part Aby a Ybolt 77 and slotsk7 9, 81 in their converging and diverging.

paths, are held in Contact and vat the same .time permitted Widthwise movement `by a Vbolt83,nut 85, washer 87 vand slot 89,.and

may be adjusted simultaneouslyby turning a hand wheel 91. In short the plates 69, 71 v are mounted and are adjustable in substantially the same manner as are the plates 2,1, 23

. Y i he inner edges ofthe plates 69,71 cooperate to provide a generally U-shaped re' cessyand .the two U-shaped recesses,-that formedby the plates' 21,23 and that formed by the plates 69, 71,-are arranged to form a'closed elongated opening having rounded ends through which the lower portion of a shoe may be pushed by the j ack. The smaller end of the plate 6 9 overlaps the smaller end of the plate 21; and theirV inner edges which form partof one side of the elongated opening are in register. The smaller end of the plate 23 overlaps the smaller end of the plate 71; and ytheir inner edges are also in register. IVith this construction thehand wheels 42,

V91 may be turned to Vvary the size of the elongated opening while maintaining its general shape unchanged. This opening is somewhat narrower at the end which 'receives the heel end of the shoe than it is' at that-end which receives the toe end of the shoe, the

Vsides o-f the opening diverging graduallyY from the end which receives the heel to the end which receives the-toe. l

The purpose of these plates, as has been explained, is to prevent the diaphragm `from ballooning up abouty the shoe when water is forced into the pressure box and to limit the iexing of that portion of therdiaphragm Which is not inengagement with'the shoe to a narrow locality surrounding the shoe. In

the operation of the machine, the hand wheels `Y 42, 91 are manipulated to adjust the.A plates to provide an opening of a size just sufficient to permit the lower portion of a shoe of a given size to pass through it. ,Thereafter that shoe and shoes of sizes which do not diiier greatly from it may be operated upon.

Certain subject-matter herein disclosed is also disclosed in applicants copending applications Serial No. 209,297, filed July 29,1927, and Serial N o. 352,278, filed April 3, 1929; and all subject-matter common to these two applications and the present application is claimed in said two applications.

Although the invention has been set forth as embodied in a particular construction it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular construction which has been shown and described.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. The combination with a pressure .box one wall of Vwhich comprises a flexible diaphragm, or" two pairs of plates shaped to enclose an opening through which a shoe may pass, a member-manipulation of which adjusts one pair of plates, and a second member manipulation of which adjusts the other pair.

2. The combination with a pressure box one wall of which comprises a flexible diaphragm, of two pairs of plates shaped to enclose an opening through which a shoe may pass, a member manipulation of which ad-. justs one pair of plates, a second member, manipulation of which adjusts the other pair, and means for locking one member of each pair from movement with respect to the other member.

3. The combination with a pressure box one wall of which comprises a iiexible diaphragm, of two pairs of plates adapted to enclose an elongated opening Vwhich is wider at one end than the other, and means for adjusting the members of the pairs in paths which are oblique to each other.

4l. rlhe combination with a pressure box one wallY of which comprises a flexible diaphragm, of two pairs of plates located above the diaphragm and adapted to encloseV an elongated opening which is wider at one end than at the other, and means for adjusting the members of the pairs in paths which are oblique to each other.

5. rhe combination with a pressurebox one wall of which comprises a flexible diaphragm, of two pairs of converging guideways located abovethe diaphragm, and two pairs of plates the members of each pair having their outside edges located in a guideway, a portion of the inner edges of the members of each pair being shaped to provide between them a recess.

6. The combination with a pressure box one wall of which comprises a flexible diaphragm, of two pairs of converging guideways located above the diaphragm, two pairs of plates the members of each pair having their outside edges located in a guideway, a

portion of the inner edves of the members of each pair being shaped -to provide between them a recess, and means for adjusting the plates along the guideways.

7. The combination'with a pressure box one wall of which comprises a flexible diay)hraom of two convergin uidewa s and ED D 7 twjo cooperating plates each having'its outer edge located in a guideway the inner edges of said plates being shaped to provide between them a recess.

'8. The combination with a pressure box one wall of which comprises a flexible diaphragm, of two converging guideways, two

cooperating plates each having its outeredge located in a guideway the inner edges of said plates being shaped to provide between them a recess, and means for adjusting the plates along the guideways to vary the size of the recess. n

9. The combination with a pressure box one wall of which comprises a flexible diai phragm, orp two converging guideways, two cooperating plates each having an edge located in a guideway, cooperating edges of the plates being shaped to provide a recess between them, and a slip connection between the. plates constructed and arranged to permit the plates to overlap eachother more or less as they are moved toward or away from the converging ends of the gui'deways.

l0. The combination with a pressure box one wall of which comprises a flexible diaphragm, of a plurality of members located above the diaphragm for controlling deecico tion of thefdiaphragm and adapted to enj close an opening through which a shoe may pass, and means for adjusting each member laterally and longitudinally of the openingl to vary the size of the opening while maintaining the shape of the opening substan- 

